Chapter 1- First Glance

"Hey you, why are you playing all by yourself?"

The small child looked up toward the voice speaking to him, "Are you talking to me?"

"Of course I'm talking to you," the other voice coming from a tall blue haired boy said to him gently. "You seem very lonely."

"I'm not lonely. I'm just alone," the small black haired boy told him.

"You know...if you want, you can play with me and the other boys!" the taller child exclaimed cheerfully.

"I don't think I'd fit in with your group."

"Nonsense, we welcome everyone. At the orphanage here, we're all like one big family!"

"You wouldn't understand. I want to be alone right now, if you don't mind." He sighed, "Why are you being so eager anyway?"

The blue haired boy blinked twice then he grinned widely, "I just didn't want you to feel left out. I thought, just maybe, we could be friends!

...and by the way, my name's Envy."...

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Envy: a name I could never forget; a name that makes other names...envious. That's what Misery thought. All morning as he got ready for class, he had been thinking about the boy that had been so enthusiastic about getting him involved with group activities, Envy. There was something about him that no one else ever showed Misery. Perhaps it was simply compassion and an offering of friendship. But whatever it was, it was for some reason pulling him in- making him want more. He had to talk to him.

In fact, he had all the time in the world to find and talk to him. After all, they did live in the same building; they lived in the same orphanage. Misery Wybourne Majikku, a 4 year old orphan-student with the matured brain of an 8 year old with a much higher IQ, at Saint Seteh's Sanctuary in the Kanto region of Japan. Envy Chasseur Ninja, an 8 year old orphan-student with the matured brain of a 16 year old with a low IQ. Although, not only were they orphans attending the same orphanage, they were schoolmates, as well. Saint Seteh's Sanctuary's purpose wasn't just to house orphans and find them homes, but it was also famous for teaching its dwellers academics at the highest level, no matter what the age.

Inside him, Misery had a twinge of hope that Envy would be in one of his classes. The day before, Envy had been trying to get a reaction from him, but now it was Misery who wanted an attraction. Even if he wasn't in any of his classes, he knew he would find him around in one of these rooms, one of these hallways, one of these dorms. 'From what I hear, it's a lot like collage,' the 4 year old thought. He was soon to find out. He was already dressed in his school-hours uniform, a short sleeved buttoned top with a black tie and formal pants, and was about to pick up his books, papers, and pencil when he heard an obnoxious knock on the door. 'That couldn't be Envy, could it?' he mused.

"Come in," he answered meekly. The intruders showed no courtesy. Right away one of two of them swung the door open and broke in. Misery gulped silently.

The visitors were in their school-hours uniforms but each wore them a different style. One of them, the one that broke through the door, had ruffled brown hair and big blue eyes; he wore his uniform with his tie in a sloppy fashion, two of his buttons undone, and his shirt un-tucked. The other, who had black unkempt hair and bright red eyes and seemed to be carrying both of their learning supplies, had his uniform quite tidy.

"Hello there, newbie! We found out you were new to the orphanage and wanted to stop by to say hi!" the brown haired said ecstatically. Misery hesitated for a moment before replying. This one seemed about as cheerful as Envy had the day before.

"My name's Misery," he muttered, looking down. The brown haired boy took a step toward him and put his hands on his knees and bent a little, as if he was talking to an infant.

"Misery, huh? Cool name! My name's Hitan, but you can call me Hitan-chan if you want," he said, introducing himself. "That over there is Chishio." He pointed to the red eyed boy standing in the doorway, still holding onto all the books and papers. Misery glanced past Hitan's shoulder.

"Where?" he asked, timidly. Hitan tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Where?" he repeated. He then waved a hand in his face. "You can see, can't you?" Misery moved the hand away from his face.

"Actually," he started, "no."

"No?!" Hitan jumped up in shock. "Does that mean you're blind?" The 4 year old nodded. After a few moments, the blue eyed boy started to calm down, and then he ruffled Misery's hair and smiled softly. "Well if you're blind, that's okay with me." The blind boy himself was surprised. He never expected anyone that found out he was blind to take it so well. Although, even though he was blind, he had a very strong sense of sound, touch, taste and smell. That's what helped him get around easily.

"So Les Miserables, would you like to walk down to the first class lecture with me and Chishio?" Hitan offered.

"That depends, would Chishio care? I wouldn't want to intrude in on your duo," Misery cautioned. Hitan turned around and faced the boy with red eyes who simply shook his head nonchalantly. In response, the boy with the blue eyes put one thumb up.

"He thinks its ay' okay, Miz-chan," Hitan answered for him, still as giddy as a horse. Misery smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth. After about a second, Hitan started up again and grabbed his wrist, pulling him towards the door, "Let's go!" The blind boy stopped himself from going anywhere, causing the much more eager boy to trip.

"I'm sorry, Hitan," Misery quickly apologized, bending down to help him up. Hitan grabbed his hand and pulled himself up.

"Don't worry about it; I have to admit I am a bit clumsy. Why'd you stop anyway?" he said.

"I forgot to get my books," Misery told him, about to turn around. Swiftly, Hitan stopped him.

"Let me get those for you. After all it is only your second day here; it's the least I could do." He went over to his end table and scooped up a couple of books along with a few pieces of paper, he then headed towards the door.

Following close behind, Misery asked, "Are you sure about this? I can carry my own stuff, you know? You really don't have to be so nice." Nevertheless, as they started walking down the hallway filled with other children hustling and bustling about, Hitan just smiled.

"Telling Hitan to stop being nice is like trying to tell the world to come to a stop," Chishio informed Misery in a muttered tone. Misery paused in thought for a moment then smiled faintly at the thought of what it would be like to be eternally kind and at peace, despite how outrageous it sounded.

After a few minutes of what seemed like running through never-ending halls, up and down stairs, and passing crowds of children, Hitan, Chishio, and Misery had finally made it outside their first class when the bell rang, just like any other school. Casual and carefree, Hitan was the first one to hurry inside, cheerfully carrying Misery's books; Chishio followed behind him, carrying both of their books (and ready to break his fall if he tripped from obliviousness) while Misery trailed in last.

Inside, the room was about 30 × 25 feet and contained 20 desks, a teacher's desk, a chalkboard, and several motivational posters as well as shelves of supplies. Aside from Hitan, Chishio, and Misery, all other students were already in the room. In one corner of the room, two tall boys were loitering while girls surrounded them. One of the boys, the oldest looking one, had black hair with a blood red bang that covered part of his left eye and had eyes that burned like fire. The other younger one however, looked much more handsome; he had metallic blue hair and crystal blue eyes. It also appeared as if he had cut the sleeves off his uniform, making him seem more muscular than he already was.

"Who are they?" Misery whispered to Hitan. Hitan looked at him suspiciously.

"I thought you said you were blind," he pointed out skeptically. The new student simply shrugged.

"I am but that doesn't mean my hearing and sense of vibrations doesn't tell me there are two other males about twenty feet away along with a bunch of girls," he told him in looked away towards the two and smiled.

"Oh, that's Itami and Envy, they're brothers but they're total opposites. Itami's always so serious about everything and is always so jealous of Envy. Meanwhile, Envy has split personalities; sometimes he gets wild and crazy, other times he's busy being a ladies man and flirting with every girl in the orphanage, and also there are times when he's as much of a jerk as Itami. Although, he is the one that founded 'The Boys' Club' that Chishio and I are a part of," he explained. Misery looked at them in awe. 'That has to be him- that's the boy who came to me yesterday. Could it be he wanted me to join this 'boy's club'? ' Misery thought. After about a few seconds, Hitan gasped in surprise and spoke up again.

"Hey kid, its Envy- he's looking at you!"